Lev Mekhlis

Lev Mekhlis (13 January 1889-13 February 1953) was Minister of State Control of the Soviet Union from 19 March 1946 to 27 October 1950, succeeding Vasily Popov and preceding Vsevolod Merkulov.

Biography
Lev Mekhlis was born on 13 January 1889 in Odessa to a family of Ukrainian Jews, and he served in the Imperial Russian Army's artillery during World War I. In 1918, Mekhlis joined the Russian Communist Party and did political work in the Red Army as a commissar. Mekhlis was sent by the Stavka command of the Red Army to inspect the commanders of the fronts of the USSR during World War II, and in 1944 he was promoted to Colonel-General. From 1946 to 1950 he served Premier Josef Stalin as Minister of State Control, but he was discharged due to his health in 1950. Mekhlis died on 13 February 1953.